written by Marko Jakob | 23.04.2022 |
Pix666: Hello Nevana, hey Srdjan. Thanks for taking the time for the interview. How are you doing?
Nevana: Thank you! Very fine.
Srdjan: I say the same.
Pix666: Srdjan, you have been a musician for quite a long time and are known far beyond the borders of Serbia with your band AlogiA. How did the idea to found another band come about?
Srdjan: At the time of corona, all active plans for music and AlogiA stopped, so I composed and spent a lot of time with Nevena, and soon realized that she is extremely inspiring and different, in the way she plays, ideas. I also realized that her musical experience as a professional pianist combined with mine gives interesting results. So after a couple of demos, the two of us decided to make a real band. We soon included Marko (the drummer) and for almost a year we “played” as a musical trio.
Pix666: Nevana, how much did Srdjan have to persuade and convince you to start a band with him? Or was that a jointly planned decision?
Nevana: He didn’t persuade me at all. As he himself said, we came up with the idea completely spontaneously. Already when we as a trio made demo recordings for “Wake the fire” and “Bad times, good times” and some covers, it was clear that it would be a real band, but we were still not sure who would be in the band. Bass player for sure, but we were experimenting with another singers, so that I could feel more relaxed at the keyboard.
In the end the decision was on Ana, which Srdjan knew from before and we have had the opportunity to collaborate, record and even perform together several times, but we have never been in a situation to be in a real, serious band. And during that year it happened that I was already recording something as a duo with Ana, so I thought I could work fine with her as a duo. At times it seemed to me that these are all signs that tell us that we should choose her.
Pix666: Some weeks ago your Single ‘Never say Never’ was released. How have the reactions to the song been so far?
Nevana: Absolutely great. I would like to thank all the people who supported us and wrote messages. And, of course, the Frontiers, who practically gave life to this band.
Srdjan: Exactly! “Frontiers” are real fighters for the survival of rock music and I can freely say the label that deserves the survival of this direction, in general. Their experience and advice are the strength of the band and without them we would never be where we are – in the spotlight, surrounded by positive comments.
Pix666: What is the story behind the song and how and where did you shoot the video? Were there some funny moments during the video shooting?
Nevana: Srdjan wrote the song. He is really spectacular when it comes to rock and metal songs. At one point he just showed up with complete music and lyrics, the demo. I was in the style: Wow! This is fantastic!
Srdjan: We shot the video at the KPGT theater and we are very grateful to our friend Ljubisa Ristic for that. The video was supposed to look “hot”, and seems like it looks like, but in fact the girls were freezing. It was very cold, we filmed during December …
Pix666: The clip surpassed the 30,000 views mark on YouTube within one day – a really impressive number. Do you look at the statistics on YouTube and Spotify and do you know where your listeners live?
Nevana: I was even more pleased with the real support and messages I received on the pages … It is wonderful to see that people all over the world are still interested in music!
Srdjan: I think that most of the reviews come from America. As I said, Frontiers, after decades of fighting for rock music, have created a base of rock fans who follow them, so surely the song wouldn’t have attracted so much attention if we hadn’t published on Frontiers networks.
Pix666: How far have the work on further songs progressed – when will your album be released?
Nevana: We’ve been working on that for the past year. In fact, we had a finished album last September. The album is out on May 13.
Pix666: Nevana, your band has a special attribute – you have two female singers. Who decides which parts of the songs Ana sings and which ones you sing?
Nevana: While working on the first album, we were under a lot of tension and we felt a lot of responsibility. I had a double job, working on keyboards and vocals. So often circumstances determined who would do what. Now that we have all got to know each other well, we will be able to plan even better in the future. In essence, Srdjan is the main character and engine of the band. His word is always the last and the music, recording, editing, videos, work plan – he is behind it.
Pix666: Last year you attracted attention with some cover versions of very well-known bands (Nightwish, Europe, ABBA). Why did you choose these songs and what kind of feedback did you get? Do you have plans for more covers in the future?
Nevana: We have fun making covers. We did that even while Ana and Alessandro were not in the team. In fact, the first version of the Nightwish cover dates from that period. The Frontiers liked it and suggested that we record “Amaranth” again and just add Ana and Alessandro.
Srdjan: In fact, Europe was suggested by Ana, and then I suggested it to Frontiers. “Amaranth” – Frontiers saw the 2020 version and suggested we record it again with Ana and Alessandro, and “Gimme, Gimme” we all from the band thought it would be cool to do, in our own way. I think recording a cover can be a risky thing, because the audience takes it too seriously and is divided into 2 groups – those who don’t like it when it doesn’t sound completely like the original and those who don’t like it when it sounds exactly like the original. Personally, I have always loved to hear the identity of Helloween when they cover Judas Priest, for example … There will be more covers in the future ..
Pix666: Also last year you already had your ‘Big Deal’ – you signed a contract with the well-known and very experienced label Frontiers Music srl. How did the contact and the contract come about and what advantages do you hope to gain from the cooperation?
Nevana : We expect to have fun and enjoy creativity. I love when we compose and it’s wonderful when you have the support of such a legendary label, because these are people who really understand music, who are fans of this musical style and that’s what leads them. And it is as clear as day. And it’s great to have guidance from them, because it’s very helpful. The audience often sees only the “band” in everything, but in this case the Frontiers are also part of the band. They’re a lot more than just a label and that’s great because you feel like you’re working for someone who really cares!
Pix666: Are there already plans for live performances in 2022?
Srdjan: Yes!
Pix666: You have already experienced a lot with AlogiA and played on many big stages. Where should the journey with The Big Deal take you, what is your wish?
Srdjan: With AlogiA we will continue on the same track, and The Big Deal – who knows … I’m sure we will perform live and we will soon know more details, because we haven’t released our first album yet.
Pix666: Nevana, tell me a little bit about your dreams…. In which locations or at which festivals would you like to perform and with which band(s) would you like to go on tour in the future?
Nevana : There are so many good festivals … first of all I would like to perform at the Frontiers Festival“, Monsters of Rock Cruise sounds great. Sweden Rock … Regarding bands, it would be great to do a joint tour with some great bands from the Frontiers family – Hardline, New Horizon, Chez Kane, Ronnie Atkins, Pretty Maids, Crazy Licks, Inglorious, Edge of Forever, Sunstorm, Mark Boals …
Pix666: Do you have any other news about The Big Deal or some interesting personal things about you that you would like to share with the fans?
Nevana: You know that Srdjan is playing on Ronnie Romero’s new solo album? That’s great news for me!
Srdjan: There will be a lot of news in the future, but we will publish one by one.
Pix666: Thanks for the interview, good luck for the future – and above all, stay healthy
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